


Of Avatars and Spirits

by LadySunami



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: M/M, Toshinori is the Previous Avatar, Unfortunately that means Toshinori is dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-03 17:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11537217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySunami/pseuds/LadySunami
Summary: Only the Avatar can master all four elements, and Izuku is not the avatar. But Izuku can still be a hero, can't he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PitViperOfDoom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitViperOfDoom/gifts), [whymeiy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whymeiy/gifts).



Five-year old Izuku Midoriya ran around the museum in excitement, pausing only briefly in front of each brightly colored display. One particular display made him pause and he jumped up and down excitedly waving to his mother. 

"Look, Mom! Look! It’s Avatar Toshinori’s uniform from when he worked for the United Republic Special Forces!"

Inko Midoriya chuckled lightly as she caught up to her overexcited son. "You’re right. Pretty cool, huh?" 

"Yeah! Woah…" Something must have caught Izuku’s eye as he suddenly bolted off again, dashing around the corner and out of Inko’s sight. 

"Izuku, sweetie, don’t go running off without me," she called out.

"Mom! Mom! They have movers!!" Inko rounded the corner herself to find Izuku staring awestruck at the motion picture projected on the screen. There, in full color and surrounded in flames, was Avatar Toshinori, somehow earthbending rubble and concrete out of his way despite a fair number of terrified citizens clinging to his back. 

"Fear not citizens!" a voice bellowed from hidden speakers, "Because I am here." The grinning avatar carefully handed off the rescued citizens to waiting paramedics before flashing a bright grin at the clearly shaking cameraman and launching himself back towards the still crumbling city block with a burst of air.

"So coooool!" Izuku squealed, "When I get my bending, I’m going to be just like him!" 

Inko laughed and ruffled his hair, "He was the avatar silly. You can’t be just like him." 

"I know that. But just because I’m not the avatar that doesn’t mean I can’t be a super cool bender! I bet I’ll be a firebender, like dad, or an airbender, like you!" He clumsily pantomimed the different bending styles and almost tripping over his own feet, "I’ll join the Special Forces, just like Avatar Toshinori, and save a whole bunch of people!" 

"Of course you will. For now though, don’t you want to look at the rest of the exhibits?" 

"Yeah!" 

 

Ten years later Izuku still had yet to develop any bending ability. Maybe if he’d been born back before Avatar Korra and the opening of the spirit portals that wouldn’t be so strange, but with each successive generation after that benders had only grown more and more common. These days almost 80% of the population could bend one of the elements, and most of those who couldn’t bend were on the older side. Granted the average bender was pretty weak compared to the benders of old, his own mother could only produce gusts strong enough to scatter papers or sweeping up dust, but they could still bend. Izuku though, he had nothing. 

He tried not to let his lack of bending ability get him down. There were plenty of influential historic figures that hadn’t been benders. If Izuku couldn’t bend, he’d just have to follow in their footsteps instead. His mother couldn’t exactly afford to hire him a personal trainer, but the local community center offered after school martial arts classes for weak/non-benders which he had attended three times a week since age ten. He was determined to be the sort of person who could help others, bending or no bending.

For whatever reason though, he couldn’t seem to rid himself of the longing to bend. He wanted to feel the air swirl around his arms, like his mother could, or the earth shifting beneath his feat, like his aunt Mihiro had described. Every time he saw his classmates playing street airball or shooting pebbles across the school yard that longing would return full force. Sadly for him, it seemed it wasn’t meant to be. 

\----- 

Izuku’s neighbor and classmate, Katsuki Bakugou, was every bit the stereotypical firebender. The boy had always been somewhat short tempered, even when small, but from the moment he gained the ability to shoot flames from his fingertips both his irritability and his arrogance became progressively worse. He was the most talented bender in their school and made absolutely sure everyone knew it. 

Unfortunately for Izuku, whenever something pissed Bakugou off, be it a less than perfect exam score or being out performed by one of their classmates in gym, Izuku would somehow end up becoming his punching bag. It was Izuku’s own fault really. Bakugou did go after other targets, like their class’s poor beleaguered spirit-kin, Hayato, but Izuku’s heroic impulse always got the better of him. Every time he caught sight of Bakugou and his gang harassing someone he’d throw himself into the line of fire. Eventually Bakugou stopped bothering with other targets and just went after Izuku directly. This was one of those days. 

"Did I hear you right, Deku? You want to get into UA? Don’t make me laugh!" Bakugou shot a swift blast of fire towards Izuku’s face, Izuku doing his best to dodge in the rather narrow alleyway they were fighting in. "As if a non-bender like you could get into the special forces program." 

"I – I don’t have to join the special forces program. They have the police program too, or – or I could go into engeneering." Izuku jumped back as another fiery punch was directed his way. 

"I know you’re not trying to get into the engeneering program, Deku, so don’t give me that bullshit," Bakugou sneered, his two groupies chuckling behind him. Izuku just clenched his fists, shaking slightly. 

"Fine, so maybe I am aiming for the special forces. That still has nothing to do with you! It’s – I mean it’s not like we can’t both get in!" 

Bakugou growled and swiped the air with a flaming kick. If it had just been Katsuki, Izuku would have dodged easily, but unfortunately he had backup. The earthbender, Riku, stomped down and raised a portion of asphalt behind Izuku which Izuku promptly tripped over. As Izuku flailed about tried to regain his balance the airbender, Souma, knocked him straight on his back with a burst of air. Izuku’s head hit the ground with a crack and he groaned in pain. 

He looked up to see Bakugou looming over him with a nasty sneer. He set his foot on Izuku’s chest and pressed down hard. "Listen closely you little shit, because I’m only going to say this once. I am going to be the only one in our shitty ass slum of a neighborhood to get into UA, got it?" Bakugou shot a final burst of flame inches from his face before removing his foot. Izuku stayed still and watched as Bakugou swaggered out of the alleyway, his groupies following close behind. 

Once they were gone, he sat up slowly and pushed himself so he could lean up against the wall and let out another groan. While his combined afterschool lessons and constant beatings made him pretty adept at dodging Bakugou’s fury, the persistent presence of the other two made it so Izuku was always outnumbered and outmatched. He really needed to convince his martial arts instructor to give some lessons on defending against multiple opponents. 

After the dizziness had subsided a bit Izuku stood up and started slowly making his way back to his apartment. Depending on how long the scuffle had lasted, he might be able to make it home in time to start dinner. His mother had been working long hours recently, as their bills had been stacking up, so it would be nice to have something prepared for her. It seemed fate had other plans for Izuku Midoriya however, as the moment he walked under the same old bridge he always passed under on his way back home he found himself face to face with a man with a cruel grin and a mad look in his eye. 

"Hey there, kid," the man said, still grinning. 

Izuku froze, wide eyed. He recognized the tattoo emblazoned on the man’s bare arm immediately. The spiraling sea beast marked him as a member of the sea dragons, a vicious bunch of waterbenders known to take delight in drowning their rivals. 

"Unfortunately I’m a bit low on funds at the moment, so I’ll be needing your help," the man said, swinging his arm around Izuku’s shoulders. "How about we make a deal? You hand over all the money you’ve got and I won’t fill your lungs with this water here." With a sweep of his free arm, he pulled a globe of water out of the flask at his side, and set it spiraling slowly in front of Izuku’s face. "What do you say? We got a deal?"

Izuku shook, knuckles turning white with how tightly he was gripping at his school bag. He didn’t have any money to give this guy, even if he wanted to. He’d checked for loose change earlier, hoping to buy a treat for Tachi, his pet badger ferret.

"Did you hear me kid? Hand it over." The man twisted his wrist, bringing the orb of water closer.

"I don’t ha–have any money–um–sir," he squeaked out. 

"Really now? That is a shame. I guess it can’t be helped then." Izuku gagged as the spiraling orb of water suddenly forced its way into his nose and throat. He clawed weakly at his attacker, hoping to stop him long enough to release the water, but it didn’t seem to do any good. His vision began to turn black and his movements became sluggish. Eventually, his struggling stopped as he fell into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izuku's badger ferret is technically a flying badger ferret (a badger ferret that can glide much like a flying squirrel). I named him Tachi after the Japanese spirit called a Kamaitachi. Kamaitachi are ferret like creatures with blades for claws that ride on dust devils.


	2. Chapter 2

Shouto Todoroki bolted up from his seat, feeling a sudden surge of energy coursing through him. He heard the sound of breaking china as his older sister, Fuyumi, dropped her tea cup in surprise. 

"Shouto? What's happening? Your eyes are glowing!" she exclaimed, staring at him in confusion. 

"I'm… not sure." He felt like he was overflowing, like the air was full of static. The energy seemed to bleed over into Féng as well, as the wyvern began flying around him in dizzying circles. "I think it's the avatar state." 

Just as he was starting to panic, the energy dissipated just as quickly as it had arrived. Féng stopped circling and settled across his shoulders instead, nudging his chin with her feathered head. 

"Oh. It stopped." Shouto said blandly, sitting back down. His sister continued to stare. 

"Do you know what triggered it? Something in the tea maybe?" Fuyumi's eyes flickered to her broken tea cup, and the tea slowly spreading across the table. She flicked her wrist gathering up the liquid with her waterbending and stopping it from dripping off the table. 

"I'm not sure. It's never happened before. Perhaps master Torino will know?" Gran Torino was Shouto's airbending tutor. He was a rather eccentric old man, and while he had yet to successfully teach Shouto any airbending he had been quite helpful on the meditation and spiritual side of things. He was also a friend and mentor to Avatar Toshinori when he was still alive, so if anyone could explain his sudden switch to the avatar state it would definitely be him. 

"You should ask him. It might be best to figure it out before father learns of it." Fuyumi gave him a wavering smile.

"Yeah…" Shouto finished his own cup of tea before standing up once again, "I'll go speak to him now. I'll see you at dinner." 

"All right. Good luck." His sister smiled at him kindly. 

 

Shouto walked swiftly to the east wing, where Gran Torino and handful of other live in servants were housed. None of Shouto's other tutors lived at the Todoroki estate, but for whatever reason Torino had insisted upon it. Shouto was glad to be honest. While the old man was irritating, a taskmaster, and – Shouto suspected – more than a little insane, he was far better company then anyone else who lived there, with the exception of Fuyumi of course. 

Shouto knocked on the door and waited a moment or two before entering anyway. Torino sat cross-legged in the center of his cluttered room, eyes closed. Whether he was meditating or just sleeping Shouto couldn't tell. 

"Master Torino." Shouto said loudly, giving the airbending master a slight bow. 

"Toshinori!" Torino exclaimed, opening his eyes and shooting Shouto a bright grin. 

"It's Shouto…" he responded with a sigh.

"Yes, yes. What do you want?" Torino closed his eyes again. 

"I need to know how the avatar state is triggered." 

Torino snorted derisively, "Hogwash. Never mind what your father says. Nothing good can come from going into the avatar state, especially not at your age." 

"I'm not asking because I want to trigger it. It – Fuyumi and I were having tea when it triggered on its own. I thought maybe you would know why." 

That seemed to catch Torinos attention. "Sit down. Let me see you better." 

Shouto sat and Torino walked around him, inspecting him closely. Féng chirped at him from around Shouto's neck. 

"Nothing seems off. You say you were drinking tea? Any particular kind?" 

"Ginseng I think. I don't really know tea." 

"Yes, well, it probably wasn't the tea then." Torino stopped in front of him, "Well, when it isn't triggered due to immediate danger it's usually a response to some sort of spiritual change or awaking. Have you tried airbending since it happened? Or earthbending perhaps." 

"No. Do you … do you think it would work now?" Shouto asked, feeling somewhat excited. 

"Only one way to find out. You been practicing the forms I taught you, haven't you? Go ahead and try it." Torino demanded, moving to the side.

"Right." Shouto stood, lifting Féng from his neck. She was quite familiar with his lessons, so she flew away and settled on an end table without complaint. Shouto took a deep breath to collect himself before taking up a starting stance. He went through the motions, just as he had a thousand times before, but when his palm pushed forward no air followed it. He hadn't made so much as a light breeze. He tried not to be disappointed, but couldn't help releasing a small sigh. 

"Well that's not it then. You can still fire and water bend I presume?" 

Shouto effortlessly dragged water vapor from the air, coating his fingers in claws of ice. He then let out a small bust of fire that vaporized it instantly. "It seems so." 

Torino nodded then returned to sitting patting the ground in front of him so Shouto would sit as well. "If the change isn't in your bending, then perhaps it something to do with your spiritual connection. Try transitioning to the spirit world and we'll see if anything seems different." 

Shouto nodded and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he found himself in the spirit world. 

\----- 

Shouto wasn't terribly fond of spirits. It wasn't that he disliked them exactly, rather their presence made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the way most of them shied away from him slightly, as though fearful he would attack, or the eerie presence of the shadowy ones with bright eyes that seemed to follow him each time he entered the spirit world. Or perhaps it was just they reminded him of the time he spent with his mother back before 'the incident'. 

His mother loved spirits, and when she'd still lived in Todoroki manor she always made sure the manor's gardens were full of the sorts of trees and plants most likely to attract them. When Shouto wasn't busy with his training she would often take him out amongst the plants and tell him the names and stories of every type of spirit they saw. She would also tell of her own family's history, and how the moon spirit, Yue, had blessed his great-great grandmother giving her white hair and a mastery of waterbending like none before her. They were good memories, but other, later memories had tainted them with a sense of fear and regret. Memories of tears and bruises and scalding heat. 

Shouto shook the grim thoughts from his head as he finished his transition to the spirit world. He looked around, inspecting the scenery. It was hard to be sure, as he'd never been to this part of the spirit world before, but it seemed less hazy then it usually was. He also felt more solid than usual, almost like when he physically walked there by passing through one of the spirit portals. Perhaps Torino was right and something had shifted in regard to his spiritual connection. 

Shouto turned and was startled to find a large bear slowly blinking down at him. Not a platypus bear or even a gopher bear, just an ordinary brown bear. 

"Um…" Shouto said smartly, taking a few steps back. The bear made no move to follow but continued to stare at him, like he was waiting for something. Something about the bear was familiar. Shouto had seen it somewhere before, but where? Suddenly it came to him. 

"You're Kuma! I've seen you on film." Kuma had been Avatar Toshinori's animal companion, so it made a certain amount of sense that it was here to meet him. The question was, why was he here? 

"Could you take me to Avatar Toshinori? I'd like to speak to him," Shouto asked politely. Could he even understand Shouto? Féng seemed to understand him well enough, but he wasn't sure if that applied to present avatars and the spirits animals of former ones. 

Kuma bowed his head in what might be considered nod, before lowing himself closer to the ground. Shouto warily climbed up on the beast's back before it stood up again and began loping across the spirit world plain Shouto had arrived in. 

Shouto watched the scenery pass by and tried not to wince at the way most of the spirit denizens seemed inclined to hide or shrink away from them. Maybe it had less to do with him and more to do with Kuma. He was an enormous brown bear after all. 

As they entered into a grove of lillypad like trees, Shouto almost thought he spotted a blond haired figure a good ways ahead. "Is that Toshinori?" he wondered out loud. The figure was thinner than expected, but he knew Toshinori had been sick for some time before his death. He was starting to feel somewhat fuzzy again, the surroundings smearing slightly at the edges of his vision. He really hoped he didn't end up back in his body before he and Kuma got there. 

As he got closer he thought he spotted someone else there along with the blond man, but he was having more and more trouble seeing. They were considerably shorter, with fluffy black hair… or was it green? At this point everything was so indistinct he really couldn't tell. Next thing he knew, he was snapped backwards and felt himself waking up back in Torino's room, his head pounding. 

"Damn it," He muttered. He had been just about to meet a previous avatar, he was sure of it. He could only hope next time he would actually manage it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Féng is more or less a miniature cross between a fenghuang and a Chinese dragon. The fenghuang and the dragon are thought to correspond to the yin and yang ideas in Chinese philosophy, which makes a mix of the two fitting for our duality ridden boy. 
> 
> If you're curious what she looks like, Féng has a serpent like body, feathery wings and no legs. She looks something like the Couatl pictured [here](http://warriorbirdy.deviantart.com/art/Couatl-and-wyrmling-copper-108838089).


	3. Chapter 3

Izuku was confused. He was pretty sure he had been drowning under a bridge a minute ago, courtesy of a waterbending gang member, but now he seemed to be standing in a forest of some sort. At least he thought it was a forest. The trees looked less like trees and more like enormous lilly pads. He could also see several types of spirits flying around, and while he was quite used to seeing spirits - there was a chunk of spirit wilds only two blocks from his house after all - the complete lack of any non-spirit varieties of wildlife was disconcerting. 

Was this... the spirit world? Had Izuku ended up in the spirit world somehow? _Does... does this mean I'm dead?!_

Izuku began to panic, his eyes darting around rapidly and his heart racing wildly. He let out a startled yelp when someone cleared their throat behind him. He quickly turned around to look.

"Hello there, my boy," a tall blonde haired man said cheerfully, a wide grin stretching across his face. 

"A-Avatar Toshinori?!" Izuku screamed. He lost all remaining vestiges of his composure and began waving his arms about wildly. "Oh no. Spirits no... if you're here I really am dead aren't I?" With that question all the energy suddenly drained out of him, as Izuku seemed to collapse in on himself. His face rapidly morphed from awe into horror and then dread. 

Toshinori placed a calming hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Don't worry, my boy. You're still quite alive." he said soothingly.

"Are - are you sure? You're dead aren't you? This - this is the spirit world isn't it?!" Izuku stuttered, clearly still worried. 

"Yes, I'm quite sure." He cleared his throat again and retracted his hand, using it to scratch the back of his neck, "This is indeed the spirit world, and I did indeed die... what 15 years ago?" Toshinori almost seemed to deflate a moment before continuing on with confidence. "But just because I'm dead doesn't mean you are!" 

Izuku's worry lessened slightly. "Okay, but if I'm not dead... how am I here exactly?" he asked. 

"Erm, if I had to guess... You're here via spirit projection. You are an airbender, yes? Airbenders are popping up here all the time! I've met quite a few since my death." Izuku got the distinct feeling Toshinori was overstating the frequency of said visits, most likely in an attempt to calm him down. While he appreciated the effort, Izuku could feel his anxiety beginning to rise again.

"But... I can't bend at all." Izuku replied, his voice shaking.

"Really? Are you certain? Are any of your family members airbender perhaps?" Toshinori fidgeted slightly as he spoke, almost as though fighting his own nervousness. Maybe he wasn't so certain after all.

"Well my mom is an airbender..." Izuku began.

"There you have it then!" Toshinori interrupted, his voice suddenly brimming with confidence. "You're probably just a late bloomer. Or perhaps one of those specialist sorts? They were popping up more and more when I was alive." 

That did make sense actually. There were plenty of benders around who for whatever reason were only capable of specific bending forms. Maybe Izuku was one of those and so was only capable of spirit projection? Or perhaps he was a full fledged airbender and the near death experience unlocked his abilities somehow? He'd heard stories of that sort of thing happening, though they were purely anecdotal. Research on the subject had proved inconclusive... Izuku's thoughts were interrupted with a boisterous laugh. 

"Quite the mutterer aren't you?" the former avatar asked. Izuku blushed, looking sheepish. "Anyway, as I said you're quite alive so there is nothing to worry about. You just need to return your spirit to its body and that will be that!" He slapped Izuku on the back making him stumble slightly. Izuku paled.

"Re-return? But I've never used spirit projection before! I don't have an anchor or anything!" Izuku fretted. 

"Ah, yes. That does make things more difficult doesn't it." Toshinori began to deflate once again, only this time he didn't pop back moments later. His muscles continued to fade away as he stared thoughtfully at Izuku, until all that was left of him was an almost skeletal figure.

"To - Toshinori? Are you alright?" Izuku asked.

"What's that, my boy?" the former avatar seemed to snap out of his thoughts, actually noticing Izuku's shocked expression. He looked down at his own lean figure. "Oh! My form has changed a bit, that's all. It happen sometimes. Nothing to worry about." 

"Ah - alright then..." Was this what Toshinori looked like when he died? Izuku had heard that Avatar Toshinori was quite ill before his death, but seeing the former avatar in this emaciated form was a bit unnerving. 

Toshinori cleared his throat yet again, then looked Izuku straight in the eye. "Now listen closely, my boy. I'm going to walk you through the process for returning to your body." 

Izuku clenched his fists and nodded, eyes brimming with resolve.

\----- 

A few false starts later and Izuku found himself laying awkwardly beneath the bridge, his throat and nose still sore from the near drowning experience. He sat up and peered around cautiously, but the gang member was nowhere to be seen. That was a relief. 

He found his bag leaned up against the side of the bridge. Other then having been thrown there, it seemed to untouched. How odd. Even if the gang member hadn't cared enough to actually kill him, he was still a mugger and so should have searched his things for valuables. Maybe someone else had come by and scared him off before he could? 

Izuku decided he really shouldn't look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth, and collected his bag before jogging towards home. It was late, much later then he usually returned home, and his mother was sure to be worried. 

What would she think when he told her he was a bender after all? Should he even tell her? Mentioning he'd found out about his powers thanks to a waterbender nearly drowning him to death was sure to make her worry. He wasn't even sure if he could do anything beyond spiritual projection, and Izuku knew that ability alone would be enough to make her worry, especially when he had no idea how to anchor himself. She'd probably end up spending her every waking moment afraid his spirit would drift away, leaving him comatose... No, it was probably best to keep this development to himself for now. He'd figure out if he could actually bend air first, and if that worked out maybe then he'd let her know. 

"Mom, I'm home." He called out, opening the apartment door. A small creature sailed down from above and landed on his shoulder, giving his ear a playful bite. 

"Ow, Tachi, what are you, a viper-bat?" Izuku laughed. 

His badger ferret enjoyed swooping in on unsuspecting visitors. His sharp claws made it easy for him to climb up the thinly painted drywall, though the tiny holes he left behind everywhere bothered Inko Midoriya to no end. 

"Izuku, you're home awfully late today. Are you alright?" His mother asked, before wrapping him in a tight hug. 

"I'm fine, mom. It's... Katsuki and I fought again is all." Izuku said sheepishly. 

"Oh, Izuku. Are you hurt? Do you need the first aid kit?" Inko inspected her son thoroughly for injuries, eyes zeroing in on each and every bruise. 

"I told you, I'm fine. No burns this time either." Izuku replied. His mother shook her head sadly. 

"I'm glad, but still. That boy... maybe I should have another talk with Mitsuki. It isn't right the way he's always picking fights with you." Inko said with a sigh. 

"That isn't necessary, mom. I'm getting pretty good at defending myself." He waved his arms, causing Tachi to give his ear a disgruntled nip. 

Izuku's stomach chose that moment to let out a low growl.

"Oh! We should eat! I was just finishing up dinner actually," Inko said, "Would you set the table please?" She rushed off to their tiny kitchenette to check on the food. 

"Of course mom." Izuku said with a smile. He'd freak out about his meeting Avatar Toshinori, and his potential newfound bending abilities, tomorrow. For now he really just wanted a calm evening meal with his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anchoring is a technique developed by airbenders after the events of Legend of Korra to help avoid some of the pitfalls of spiritual travel. It does make it more difficult (it's why Shouto keeps snapping back to his body) but it also helps airbenders (and avatars) avoid ending up trapped and unable to return to their physical body.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm more of a worldbuilder then a writer, so please let me know if anything is worded strangely or doesn't quite make sense as written. Also, give me your theories as to what is going on! I will happily chat with you about anything that's not a major spoiler.


End file.
